Bi-partisan Bills in U.S. Senate and House to End Solitary

Bi-partisan Legislation Introduced in the U.S. Senate and House to End Youth Solitary

In February 2017, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Senator James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Maintaining dignity and Eliminating Restrictive Confinement of Youth Act (S. 329), a federal bill banning solitary confinement for youth. The MERCY Act, which has bi-partisan support, also requires the Attorney General to create a report on why and how solitary confinement was used, data on solitary confinement disaggregated by race and ethnicity, and steps taken by each facility to reduce future solitary confinement.

There is a companion bill in the U.S. House sponsored by Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Representative Mia Love (R-UT). Read the press release from Senator Booker’s Office.